# Nicotine Tolerance Build Up



## Cocker_dude (Jan 27, 2014)

I'm a brand new smoker who has never spent any time smoking any type of product, I find myself sensitive to the nicotine when smoking cigars. I've spent the last 4 weeks smoking very mild cigars in hopes that I can work my way up to the fuller body smokes which I really enjoy.

My question is in regards to frequency. I really only have time to smoke about 3-4 cigars/week. Is that enough to build up a nicotine tolerance? I know mileage may vary depending on the person. I'm just curious if anyone has any experience with building up a nicotine tolerance and the best method to getting to the end.


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## HIM (Sep 12, 2012)

While you'll certainly have to build up a tolerance I think what time of day it is and how much you've had to eat plays a huge roll in being able to smoke stronger cigars. Smoke with a full stomach and at the rate you've mentioned you'll get to the heavy stuff soon enough. Try moving into the medium strength range and keep a sugary drink on hand and see how you handle it. Just smoke slow and don't have an empty stomach.


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## ichett (Apr 5, 2013)

Try a good rootbeer or coke with your cigar. I used to have the same problem then after smoking consistently for a good 6 months, at least one or two a week. I can handle pretty much anything.


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## MDSPHOTO (Sep 10, 2013)

I only smoke 1-2 a week and its usually on a Sat or Sun so I have not really built up a tolerance. I stick with med or at best med-full bodied cigars and that seems to keep the bad Vitamin N effects away. I use the reviews here to assist with which cigars maybe too strong for me and just avoid them, but every now and again one sneaks up and bites me. There are people who smoke everyday and never develop a tolerance for the strong cigars. Also, don't feel that you are less of a cigar smoker because you can't tolerate the "hot right now" cigar, because there a ton of flavors to be had in the med bodied sticks.


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## P8ntbllr234 (Sep 23, 2012)

I smoke maybe 1 cigar a week to everyother week and only like smoking full bodied cigars. Like previously stated eat a big ass meal and take your time smoking it. Both of these are huge factors and I also usually have a sugary drink with me if the kick is coming on too strong


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## wallydog (Sep 30, 2013)

Get some small cigars 4x30 or so . Smoke one every day after lunch if possible even if you have to pitch it . Make sure you eat a well balanced diet daily without lots of refined sugars and starches . Your tolerances will build up in a few weeks . And with a good diet you may not need to be rescued by sugar when you smoke that full strength cigar .


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## rjwillow (Jan 15, 2014)

Hi Steve
You mention "getting to the end". What exactly does that mean? no need to answer, just think about it... 
You can try to force a tolerance build and start a "regimen". But to what end?
There are so many mild ( lower nic)sticks out there that you could spend years just enjoying them as you slowly integrate mediums and medium fulls trying them now and again...
Then you will have built whatever tolerance is possible for your metabolism slowly and naturally without worrying about it.
So just enjoy what you smoke and like everyone else said, full stomach, sugar on hand and smoke slow. When you venture into stronger sticks buy smaller/shorter vitolas so you can get the full experience with out having to bail out early. I think you will get so much more pleasure this way...
I wish that I could recommend some low "N" sticks for you. But I have such a high tolerance that I am absolutely NO help with that... 
I almost envy you... 
Have fun
rich


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## huskers (Oct 2, 2012)

Some good answers in here.

I might be an odd duckling in the group.



It seems I have a pretty high tolerance to nicotine but I'm not really sure how I sustain it.


A little background.



About 9 years ago, I was in college and was riding home with a friend. 

He offered me some chewing tobacco and I obliged. (keep in mind I've never chewed before)

About 30 minutes later.............I was tossing chunks.

I liked the extra spark the nicotine gave me so I decided to try it again a few days later.

I learned to understand my body and when to spit the chew out so I wouldn't get sick.

Eventually, I got to the point that I didn't have to take it out till I was done with it.




I've kicked chewing long ago but I think it really built up my tolerance. 



I smoked a few cigars and cigs now and again down the road but nothing daily.



To this day, I can stomach damn near any cigar given to me.
In fact, I'm not the person to ask about strength because cigars that make people sick only give me a buzz at best. 
I'm really not sure how my body has maintained my tolerance level over the years but it has.



Long story short, if you want to REALLY increase your tolerance, you need to push your body to it's limits and then back off.
Chew will get you there rather quickly. You can even use the little pouches if you don't like loose chew. 
Otherwise, Pick up a strong cigar.........smoke it and then put it down when you get a really good buzz going (before you get sick)


Key here is to pay attention to your body before its to late and you get sick. Might take a few times getting sick before you know the feeling of when to quit.



Eventually, your body will get use to the nicotine and you will have an iron gut my friend.


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## Gdaddy (Sep 20, 2012)

My father used to chew. I tried it several times and the nicotine rush was WAY too much. I've smoked cigars since I was 18 (now 63) and I've never been able to improve my tolerance for the nicotine. 

I'm a nicotine baby. When it hits me it puts me down. So the solution for me was to simply take smaller puffs and smoke slower. I love the taste of stronger cigars and smoke them regularly. I don't 'puff' on them and instead 'sip' on them slowly.


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## P8ntbllr234 (Sep 23, 2012)

Gdaddy said:


> My father used to chew. I tried it several times and the nicotine rush was WAY too much. I've smoked cigars since I was 18 (now 63) and I've never been able to improve my tolerance for the nicotine.
> 
> I'm a nicotine baby. When it hits me it puts me down. So the solution for me was to simply take smaller puffs and smoke slower. I love the taste of stronger cigars and smoke them regularly. I don't 'puff' on them and instead 'sip' on them slowly.


haha i think everyone has a story about the first time they dipped. Man it was NOT good. put a full "horseshoe" in which is packing all the way around the lip from side to side or end tooth to end tooth. I was drinking a lot ended up swallowing almost all of it LOL Lets just say the beach sand was covered within a 100 yard radius with vomit. IT was the worst rush/feeling of my life. Tried it one more time about a year later in a car and was sweating uncontrollably and felt awful again but didn't throw up that time but that was the last ill ever try dip


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## Bruck (Jan 8, 2013)

P8ntbllr234 said:


> haha i think everyone has a story about the first time they dipped. ... Lets just say the beach sand was covered within a 100 yard radius with vomit. ...


I did that once at a Willie Nelson concert... only it wasn't dip - it was beer and fried chicken :lol:


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## Gheldan (Mar 22, 2014)

I'd recommend grabbing some cigarillos (I prefer Excalibur, but you can pick anything decent) and then you smoke them on your work breaks or just one a day. They are too short to hit you fast but they are tasty and will help build up your tolerance.


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## smknjoecool (Oct 11, 2013)

Gdaddy said:


> My father used to chew. I tried it several times and the nicotine rush was WAY too much. I've smoked cigars since I was 18 (now 63) and I've never been able to improve my tolerance for the nicotine.
> 
> I'm a nicotine baby. When it hits me it puts me down. So the solution for me was to simply take smaller puffs and smoke slower. I love the taste of stronger cigars and smoke them regularly. I don't 'puff' on them and instead 'sip' on them slowly.


Excellent advice. I was a heavy cigarette smoker (2 packs a day for 10 years) before I quit 10 years ago and had a pretty high tolerance. If you smoke too much too fast you are going to get at least a "buzz" if you are lucky, and it just gets worse from there. I can't say that eating or drinking ever did much to help an OD. Time does.

Now I smoke about 1-4 cigars a month and I take my time. It's not like smoking a cigarette where you can just puff away as much as you want, at least not for me. Someone here on Puff said to wait about a minute between puffs and that seems to work well for me. Just watch your phone (clock) and take a puff about every minute. Don't suck real hard or take multiple puffs often until you are familiar with how it affects you.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

Cocker_dude said:


> I'm a brand new smoker who has never spent any time smoking any type of product, I find myself sensitive to the nicotine when smoking cigars. I've spent the last 4 weeks smoking very mild cigars in hopes that I can work my way up to the fuller body smokes which I really enjoy.
> 
> My question is in regards to frequency. I really only have time to smoke about 3-4 cigars/week. Is that enough to build up a nicotine tolerance? I know mileage may vary depending on the person. I'm just curious if anyone has any experience with building up a nicotine tolerance and the best method to getting to the end.


Short answer everyone is different.


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## beachbum (Apr 12, 2013)

Could be you're not smoking them properly. When I first started I was practically racing my way through it, until I rediscovered them, and started to take my time. I only smoke 1-3 / month, but usually smoke stronger ones. I'm not sure if I built a tolerance, or just learned how to smoke them. I can usually smoke on an empty stomach now but might have to grab a soda half way through. After a meal I'm fine. Might want to give it a minute between puffs.


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## Erphern (Jan 28, 2014)

Taking your time between puffs is the way to go, in my opinion - else I've found they burn too hot and end up tasting awfully bitter, anyway.

I doubt I smoke enough to maintain a tolerance - at most one a day, but often a day or two in between - and I never get so much as a sense of a nicotine buzz, even on an empty stomach (I usually end up having time before rather than after dinner, anyway).

It's possible that the three years or so I was smoking cigarettes heavily made a difference, but I quit those a year and a half ago.


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## DrBob (Mar 26, 2014)

I had always thought that mild cigars just meant more subtle flavors, and Full meant bold. Is there a direct correlation between nicotine and cigar strength?


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## Cocker_dude (Jan 27, 2014)

Thanks for all the help.

I feel like my tolerance has started to get better. I think I will always be sensitive, but I now can handle a medium stick without any discomfort.

Last night I finally discovered a mild cigar that I truly enjoyed. Since it was part of a sampler, it was the only one I had. So, I hopped on the devil site and started looking for more.


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## SeanTheEvans (Dec 13, 2013)

DrBob said:


> I had always thought that mild cigars just meant more subtle flavors, and Full meant bold. Is there a direct correlation between nicotine and cigar strength?


No, not always. Cigars can be full flavored but only medium-full strength, or mild flavored with high N-strength. Kind of a trend, but you can find those that break the mold.


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## MDS (Dec 4, 2012)

Just to add my thoughts, I think you can build up tolerance at that rate of smoking. I've always had a high tolerance for Vit-N and good ol Copenhagen deserves some of the credit (didn't get sick on my first chaw amazingly)....but early in my cigar smoking career I had some LFDs as my first full strength cigars. It was great, but I wouldn't have wanted to have been behind the wheel or something for it. :smoke2: Now, almost 4 years later, the same LFDs will just give me a pleasant, fairly mild buzz.


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## Goatmilk (Jan 2, 2012)

You haven't lived until you've experienced the retarded shakes a few times.


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## Big Tex (Apr 18, 2011)

I dipped Copenhagen for 15 years and quit for five years before I started smoking cigars. When I started smoking cigars I smoked sticks in all strengths all of the way up to LFD double ligero chisels without any problems however I have still had a few unsuspecting sticks knock my peter in e dirt (sweating/ nausea). A Davidoff Puro Dominicano belicoso hurt me even after eating the buffet at the casino once! Even today if I get a dip of Copenhagen it makes me a bit dizzy at first and is not pleasant. There is lots of good advice in this thread and my advice is to enjoy your cigar, don't huff it down because you have to. 

Long Ashes!


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## Fuzzy (Jun 19, 2011)

I am a nic addict. Sometimes I smoke a yard gar or a pipe full while having a dip, too. About the only symptom of nic od I get is a bad bust a gut case of hiccups. A good chug of beer stops it right away.


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## ichett (Apr 5, 2013)

Goatmilk said:


> You haven't lived until you've experienced the retarded shakes a few times.


The first time I had an Opus X, I inhaled it in 30-45 minutes. Half an hour later I threw up like I've never have before and still felt like I was going to die.


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